Today we found 78 cents in coin and 11 bottles and cans.
Ok, so I’m on the evening walk with Lexi and collecting some loose change plus whatever bottles and cans are around at the car wash. Suddenly in comes this red minivan. There’s an old lady, I’d say probably around 65 or so and this younger guy, perhaps in his late 20’s or early 30’s. I’ve seen these 2 before here and I know they’re looking for bottles. Unfortunately for them, I’ve already scooped up the bottles. Anyway, the van comes pulling in around 30 mph and stops abruptly at the last vacuum area of the 4. Before the van actually comes to a stop, this guy pops out of the passenger side like a track star, bag in hand headed for the first receptacle where he finds nothing, then quickly proceeds to the next and then the next.
Meanwhile, the old lady is acting like a field general giving him orders as he scurries along coming up empty all the while. Then, after his failed attempt to find anything, quickly heads back to the van, probably because it was pretty cold, and the old lady, who is barely mobile, gets in the drivers side and guns the engine in disgust on the way out. It’s the funniest thing you ever saw. I mean, even if they would have picked up the 10 bottles or so I had, was it really worth it. It must have cost them at least a couple of bucks in gas to go out of their way and go there. For me, it’s all about efficiency whenever possible. I’ll take the good old foot power, and the price is right.
Note to myself – carry the digital camera so I can get a picture of these two in action!
Coin talk – Michele started out the scoring with 2 pennies this morning. The first was found on Barbara, and the second was recovered on Mousam Street. I was able to snag one penny on my run this afternoon. I found it on Riverbank Street.
The evening walk netted another 65 cents. I found 29 of it at the car wash. One dime was found near a vacuum station and then I scooped up 19 cents on one of the self-serve bays on a ledge next to the coin slot (1 dime, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies). The remaining 36 cents came from the high school (1 quarter, 1 dime, and 1 penny). All of the coins were picked up in the front part of the high school area. The final dime was found at Luigi’s, where I was picking up a pizza for dinner. It was on the rug near one of the tables.
Money totals for 2006 –208.08
Money totals since Jan. 2005 – 326.43
Bottle and Can totals for 2006 – 13,351 – 667.55
Bottle and Can totals since Jan. 2005 – 23,373 – 1,168.65